March 22, 2009

A Bad Hair Day

After a few days under the sun searching for seashells in the sands of Sanibel Island, Florida, I returned to my native New York to do what I always do on break: go to the theater with my mom and aunt. Sadly, it was a total bust this time around.
Brief back-story: Last summer the musical Hair was performed for a month-long run in Central Park. If you waited in line all morning you could get great free tickets for that night’s performance. I did this with some friends and all four of us loved the show. Since Hair was so successful in the summer, a bunch of rich producers decided to back the production and bring it to Broadway. Currently it’s in previews and opens officially on Mar. 31. My mom desperately wanted to see the show after the rave reviews I gave it in the summer. That is how Hair became our show of choice for this break.
Hair being on Broadway now, I wasn’t able to camp out for free tickets. Instead, my parents kindly paid the ridiculous $120 ticket price, which was the start to making the show less lovable. Also, there were some crazy/rude ladies sitting behind us that commented on every song and then lost their Blackberry case during intermission and could not deal. Otherwise, the show was pretty much entertaining. As a flower child, I can’t really complain about a musical that bears the theme of peace, love and pacifism. Yet for a $120 ticket, I can. So in my true arts critic fashion, I feel required to inform you that, surprisingly, the expensive-to-see Broadway revival and adaptation of Hair did not live up to the remarkable and free Central Park version.
In other arts news … I listened to and shockingly fell in love with Katy Perry’s album One of the Boys over the break –– so I might just be having an off week. Either way, I bid you all peace and love in the dreadful school weeks ahead!

Related

On the eve of the Battle of Yorktown, George Washington sang a few words of advice to the newly promoted Alexander Hamilton: “You have no control, who lives, who dies, who tells your story.” Or, at least, that’s what Hamilton composer-star Lin-Manuel Miranda thought George Washington should have said, because it’s a really great thematic through line for a musical about their lives. The scene itself is an introspective, even self-referential moment for a show that literally tells a story about people who have no control over the narrative.

At the beginning of the 65th Tony Awards ceremony, Neil Patrick Harris sang “Broadway has never been broader, it’s not just for gays anymore!” and a wave of heterosexuals suddenly flooded Manhattan, from 40th all the way up to 54th. It was a lovely little song for “those who’ve never seen theatre before,” but who have somehow found themselves spending a Sunday evening watching the most niche awards show on broadcast television, next to the CMAs; A signal of inclusivity to come for one of the most exclusive spheres of the arts.